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Oglethorpe County Primary and Elementary School principal Katie Baldwin hugs special education parapro Toni Evans after presenting her with the OCES Classified Employee of the Year award at the board of education meeting in Lexington, Georgia, on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Three of the county's four Classified Employees of the Year were honored at the November Board of Education meeting. (Photo/Cassidy Hettesheimer) -
Oglethorpe County School System superintendent Beverley Levine and board chair Becky Soto present kindergarten teacher Shonda Cronic with the Oglethorpe County system-wide Teacher of the Year award at the board of education meeting in Lexington, Georgia, on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Cronic is also an alum of Oglethorpe County Schools. (Photo/Cassidy Hettesheimer) -
The 2023-2024 classified employees of the year: Kathi Matthews, OCPS nurse; Toni Evans, OCES special education paraprofessional; Saundra Gabriel, OCMS nurse and cheer coach. Behind them are principals of Oglethorpe Schools (left to right): Katie Baldwin, primary and elementary schools; Mack Baldwin, middle school. Also a classified employee of the year, Meredith Meyer, OCHS secretary, was not present for the recognition ceremony.(Photo/Caleb Baldwin)
The Oglethorpe County Board of Education approved buying three new buses and discussed other structural improvements at its Tuesday meeting.
As a part of the school system’s yearly bus replacement rotation, Oglethorpe County will buy two new Blue Bird gas-powered route buses for $141,999 each, for a total of $283,998. The school system will also add an additional special education bus for $153,320.
These will be the county’s first buses with air conditioning.
“Our fleet is around 25 route buses, and so we try to replace two buses every year,” said Paul Thiel, director of operations for the school system. “The state wants you to have, they’re called ‘in-cycle,’ so you don’t run buses that are really, really old.”
Board members also discussed spending for drainage solutions for the northwest side of the Oglethorpe County High School track, which is necessary to receive a warranty on the track. The quoted cost of a drain system installation would be $19,000.
Track and field improvements were also a topic for the board — quoted at $71,040 — in order for the discus, shot put and long jump pits to be suitable for a March 2024 competition. Board members weighed the merits of sodding or hydroseeding a 40,000-square-foot space where the field events may be moved; this space has previously been used for overflow parking.
The board will continue the drainage and field improvement discussions at its work session on Nov. 16.
In other news, the board:
- Recognized the 2023-2024 system teacher of the year: Shonda Cronic, OCPS kindergarten
- Recognized the 2023-2024 classified employees of the year: Kathi Matthews, OCPS nurse; Toni Evans, OCES special education paraprofessional; Saundra Gabriel, OCMS nurse and cheer coach; Meredith Meyer, OCHS secretary
- Announced that Oglethorpe County Primary School completed its sensory room to be used for students with special needs or sensory issues. The room has a series of relaxing, interactive objects with which students can interact.
- Noted that 49 OCHS students took the ACT in 2023, up from 37 in 2022 and 36 in 2021; average reading and English scores decreased, while math and science scores increased
- Approved a new special education paraprofessional at OCPS
- Discussed an opportunity, paid for by the bus company, for the transportation director and a mechanic to visit the Roush Plant in Michigan to learn about propane buses.
- Highlighted activities in schools’ computer science programs, including game design at OCHS and 3D printing at OCES
- Recognized The Oglethorpe Echo for receiving the Georgia School Board Association’s Beacon Award.